“Singo just blurted it out at the media conference.”
Top rating broadcaster Ray Hadley celebrates 20 years on 2GB mornings today.
radioinfo asked him about his thoughts and emotions when he was offered mornings. Well, it wasn’t really an offer, Hadley explains:
“I was stunned because I wasn’t really offered the job. Singo [John Singleton] just blurted out at the media conference for the launch of Alan Jones at 2GB breakfast that I had agreed to do mornings. That was not the case.
“I’d been doing breakfast for a couple of months and was signed as a league commentator. On the way back to the studio after the media conference Singo told me I had to have a crack and we’d work out the details later.
“He did tell me I’d have to find another person to lead the Continuous Call Team but I refused and said I’d work 7 days a week during the footy season, which I did for the next 10 years. I had already got Peter Frilingos, Bob Fulton and Steve Roach agreeing to join me at 2GB and told Singo I wouldn’t leave them posted.”
During his time, Hadley has achieved 138 consecutive Survey wins – the longest-running winning streak of all-time – unbeaten in 17.5 years and has become the most awarded radio host in Australian Commercial Radio Award (ACRA) history picking up 33 awards. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017.
Hadley enjoyed 19 successful years broadcasting at 2UE, before joining 2GB in late 2001, and on 4th March 2002, The Ray Hadley Morning Show first went to air. It now also airs on 4BC in Brisbane and across 30 network stations Australia-wide.
No stranger to controversy, Hadley says he has learnt a lot over the past 20 years and what he would do differently if he knew then what he does now:
“There are dozens of things I’d now do differently to my methods 20 years ago. If you don’t get smarter as you get older you have a significant problem,” he told radioinfo.
Hadley was the founding member of The Continuous Call Team (CCT) which re-shaped sports radio shows and remains unbeaten since 1992. Ray still calls rugby league for 2GB and his tally includes 30 Grand Finals, 86 State of Origins and thousands of NRL games.
“It’s quite humbling to get to this stage of my career. However, I won’t dwell on it, given many of my listeners are facing their own challenges with this devastating flood emergency. I’ll find time to commemorate this special occasion more appropriately in the foreseeable future,” he said.
In marking today’s milestone, Nine Radio Managing Director Tom Malone says:
“Ray is the most successfully versatile radio broadcaster in Australian history.
“No other person has been number one across multiple formats, whether it be sports commentating, sports lifestyle, country music, or in his current role as the host of 2GB’s The Ray Hadley Morning Show.
“He has succeeded at every turn, largely through determination and sheer hard work.”
Known for his passionate commentary and ability to drive debate across the country on both national and local issues, Hadley has become one of the most influential voices in media.
Hadley has experienced a number of personal highlights over the past 20 years, including his marriage to wife Sophie and the birth of his four grandchildren Ava, Noah, Lola and Ella Rae (named after him), who was born while Hadley was on air, resulting in an emotional moment shared with listeners nationwide. Hadley’s fifth grandchild is due in the coming months.
His on air highlights include: leadership of the 2009 Home Insulation ‘Pink Batts’ Program influenced downfall of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd; his marathon stint on air during the Lindt Cafe Siege in December 2014 – where he worked directly with NSW Police while hostages called the program – kept Sydneysiders informed and supported during one of the city’s darkest hours; his tireless advocacy for victims of child sexual abuse has helped tear down taboos and give voice to the marginalised; and his vocal campaign against the NSW Government greyhound racing ban was critical to overturning the law and saving the industry.